1st Birthday

My nephew turns ONE YEAR OLD today!  Happy Birthday!  

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My sister had his birthday party this past weekend, and I was lucky enough to fly down for the big event.  It was nice to see so much of my family that I hadn’t seen in a while.  My nephew is too adorable for words.  I couldn’t get enough of him!

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The cake was from Tart Bakery in Dallas.  It was a white cake layered with fresh strawberries frosted with white buttercream.  I can’t say it was the best tasting cake I’ve ever had, but it was tasty and definitely cute and fit with the party theme.  

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My cousin, a 4 1/2 year old boy, is allergic to peanuts.  Since most bakeries are not peanut free, he can’t eat cake at parties.  Total bummer for a kid!  So, we made a dozen peanut-free chocolate cupcakes for Dalton.  I was skeptical of this cake mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen as it not only is peanut free, but also egg and dairy free.  

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How can something like this be edible?  I figured it would taste like chalk and have  a texture akin to cardboard.  I was wrong.  The cupcakes were really good!  Not as moist maybe, but definitely edible and definitely yummy.  We frosted the cupcakes with a white buttercream and decorated them with colored fondant.  My sister, Sarah, and I free handed some pigs, giraffes and goldfish to match the party napkins.  They turned out pretty cute.

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